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I couldn't make heads or tails of this map until I read the Wikipedia article: The Fra Mauro world map is unusual, but typical of Fra Mauro's portolan charts,
by cjohnson318 3y ago
I couldn't make heads or tails of this map until I read the Wikipedia article:
The Fra Mauro world map is unusual, but typical of Fra Mauro's portolan charts, in that its orientation is with the south at the top. One explanation for why the map places south at the top is that 15th-century compasses were south-pointing. In addition, south at the top was used in Arab maps of the time. In contrast, most European mappae mundi from the era placed east at the top, since east was the direction of the biblical Garden of Eden.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fra_Mauro_map https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fra_Mauro_map
- dharmab 3y ago> In contrast, most European mappae mundi from the era placed east at the top, since east was the direction of the biblical Garden of Eden. I am skeptical of this explanation. A simpler explanation is that most early maps were east-oriented because the sun rises in the east. South (and later, north) oriented maps only become important when ships begin to use magnetic compasses.